Yale Based Avalon Project Three

Manifest Destiny, Popular Sovereignty, and Uncle Tom's Cabin were three assets leading to a civil war. Though they are three different idea, all three remain interconnected for each one lead to the other. The legacy of Manifest Destiny pertaining to the expansion of the country lead to popular sovereignty in the newly attained territories, and Uncle Tom's Cabin stated the view of the common person in the North as all this chaos was occurring. The expansion of the country called for more land, and more land meant more people, and more people meant more slaves. All three ideas faced opposition that mainly related to slavery. The Northerners felt slavery demoralized blacks, while the Southerners found it to be a mutual relationship in which the blacks work, and the whites make the money. As an abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe found slavery demeaning and wrote on the tragedies of the life of blacks down South. Other authors, such as Mary Henderson Eastman felt that the life of blacks as a free man in the North was horrible and that their fate was much crueler than of a slave's down in the South. The slave talk slowly reached a peak moment when war was the only option to turn to. The War Between the States or the American Civil War had finally erupted on April 12, 1861 as result of Manifest Destiny, Popular Sovereignty, and Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Each of these ideas had many documents during that time to support their idea and one after the other, each document proved to be more vital in causing to a civil war. From the first document on Manifest Destiny on August 9, 1842 to the novel written to further the message of Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1957, the people drifted apart each step of the way. The war may officially not have begun till the year 1861, but it started in the minds of the people all the way back in 1942 - A difference of nineteen years!

Manifest Destiny played a major role in leading to a future Civil War. The country's legacy stating that we must extend from sea to shining sea cause extreme differentiations among the minds of the people. Not all the citizens wished for a large country; many were in fact satisfied with what they had. Many were afraid that more people meant more opposition that they did not wish to deal with. The Man in power, of course, gets to make the decision for all. In this case it was President James Knox Polk. He felt strongly believed in Manifest Destiny causing him to take control and put his plans into action. Though he was the culprit found when manifest destiny was at its peak, he was not the only man responsible. Many others, such as John Tyler and John L. O'Sullivan were supporters of Manifest Destiny.

The document initiating the idea of Manifest Destiny was the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/br-1842.asp). Written as a series, this treaty settled disagreements amongst Great Britain and the United States of America about the boundaries in the northeast as well as the area near the great lakes. The great, endless dispute between the Maine- New Brunswick border and the Lake Superior- Lake of the Woods border had finally come to an end. The finally result- the United States of America was bestowed with the land in northern Maine as well as more land near the Great Lakes. The treaty not only marked an end to the dispute between the Americas and the British, but it ended an undeclared war-the Aroostook War. High tensions and heated rhetoric in Maine and New Brunswick motivated both sides to raise troops and attack against each other. The unofficial fighting had finally come to a halt. John Tyler's signing of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty slowly made evident that he greatly wished for territorial expansion of the nation. This territorial expansion may have been a small thing, but it was the beginning of what was to come next.

After John Tyler had been succeeded by James K. Polk, the trouble began. Polk was ready to go to any extent, in order to fulfill the belief of Manifest Destiny. He believed that no matter what, the country is required to spread from sea to shining sea. Polk was the man in charge of the annexation of Texas. This annexation caused further dispute, and the Mexicans made it clear that they were not willing to just give up their land. On May 13, 1846 President Polk gave a formal speech on the Declaration of War on Mexico. The Mexican-American War had commenced. This war proved that the United States was willing to turn to even war as an option, just to fulfill their "Destiny." And in fact, the idea of Manifest Destiny was not even supported by many of the citizens. The war depicted America as a divided nation, where the more powerful always win. Polk was present, therefore he had power, and using his power he took the nation into war.

Only a few months after declaring war on Mexico on June 15, 1846, Polk signed another document, one that expressed agreement under international law. Polk signed the Oregon Treaty (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/br-1846.asp), in which the United States and the United Kingdom settled the deadlock about the border between Canada and the United States in Oregon Country. At first, the democratic expansionist petitioned stating they would not settle for anything under 54o 40'. They rallied under with the catch phrase: "54o 40' or Fight!" The Americans, however, remained diligent and knew that this was a point in time where they must satisfy the British needs. By giving up a little territory in the Northwest, they could gain an immense addition to the country in the Southwest. They could not afford to allow the British to join forces with the Mexican. They eventually settled for the 49th Parallel. The country's division became even more clearly evident, since not all were kept happy. Our country was slowly falling into pieces.

The treaty that led to the complete war or North vs. South was signed on February 2, 1848- The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/guadhida.asp). Negotiated by Nicolas Trist, Winfield Scott, Don Bernardo Couto, Don Miguel Artistain, and Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas, the treaty granted United States complete governmental authority over what is all or part of present day California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska. With all this new land admitted into the Union for the small amount of fifteen million dollars, organization was needed. Since slavery had been long abolished in Mexico, the people in the new territories remained mostly abolitionists. This proposed a threat to the South. California demanded to enter the Union as a free state; the main land acquired from the war refused to be a slave state. As a concession to the South the rest of the area attained in this Mexican Cession would not have any restrictions on slavery, hence it